The White House has launched its first volley against House Republicans in what is expected to be a long battle as GOP lawmakers investigate President Joe Biden‘s administration and his son Hunter Biden.
Biden’s top lawyer, in letters obtained by DailyMail.com, is arguing that Republicans need to resubmit any demands for documents made in the past year as they were not in control of Congress at the time and didn’t have investigatory power to make such a request.
Republicans promptly fired back, accusing the White House of playing political games, leaking the letter to the media before sending it to the lawmakers. They vowed to continue their investigations.
The back-and-forth offers a preview of what is expected over the next two years as Republicans dig into Biden and his family while the White House vigorously defends the president.
White House launched its first volley against Republican lawmakers who want to investigate President Joe Biden (right) and his son Hunter Biden (left)
White House sent letters to Republican Reps. Jim Jordan (left) and James Comer (right) arguing their requests for documents made while they were the minority party in Congress need to be resubmitted as they did not have investigatory power
In a letter to Republican Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan, which was first reported by Politico, White House Counsel Richard Sauber said the administration would comply with GOP requests.
But, he added, the records request made by Jordan, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, and Comer, who is expected to head the Oversight Committee, were not constitutional because only the majority party in the House has investigative power.
‘Congress has not delegated such authority to individual members of Congress who are not committee chairmen, and the House has not done so under its current Rules,’ Sauber wrote.
Republicans don’t take the majority until January 3rd.
Sauber said the White House would comply with any constitutional requests.
‘Should the Committee issue similar or other requests in the 118th Congress, we will review and respond to them in good faith, consistent with the needs and obligations of both branches. We expect the new Congress will undertake its oversight responsibilities in the same spirit of good faith,’ he wrote.
The White House argues that, going back to President Ronald Reagan’s Administration, that ranking members in the minority do not speak for the Congress and thus are not able to jumpstart the accommodations process on formal investigative requests.
Comer, in response, accused the administration of hypocrisy, noting its pledge to transparency but refusal to hand over documents.
‘President Biden promised to have the most transparent administration in history but at every turn the Biden White House seeks to obstruct congressional oversight and hide information from the American people,’ Comer said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
The Republican from Kentucky also vowed the investigations will continue.
‘Republicans are undeterred by the Biden Administration’s obstruction and will continue pressing for the answers, transparency, and accountability that the American people deserve,’ he said.
In the article, Politico notes that White House officials briefed them on the letter. Jordan’s office complained the Biden administration told the press before the lawmakers.
‘Last night, the White House LEAKS this ridiculous story to @politico and @HeidiReports,’ Jordan’s office wrote on Twitter.
‘Then, the White House BRIEFS Politico on the story. At 4:34 a.m. this morning, the White House sends us the letter. Only after publication does Politico ask us for comment. ‘Good faith.”
Republicans have vowed a slew of investigations into the president and his family that will dig into the origins of COVID, the withdraw of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the business dealings of Hunter Biden.
White House letter to Rep. Jim Jordan
White House letter to Rep. James Comer
Republicans have vowed a slew of investigations against the president and his family – above Hunter Biden, Beau Biden, Jill Biden and President Joe Biden in November
Jordan, a close ally of Donald Trump who is not afraid of throwing political zingers, has said that, under his leadership, the House Judiciary Committee also will look into alleged ‘politicization’ at the FBI and reports the agency tried to suppress media coverage of the Hunter Biden story in 2020.
‘I’ve been in Congress a few years now, and I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Jordan said at a press conference after the election. ‘Fourteen (FBI) agents come talk to us while we’re in the minority about how political that place has become.’
It’s expected to be a contentious two years of legal wrangling and lawsuits as the GOP investigates the president with arguments over what is allowed under Congress’ oversight power and what would constitute congressional over reach.
With the letters, the administration is sending an early signal of how it plans to respond to what it sees as politically-motivated investigations of Biden and his family, calling them ‘political stunts.’
‘As we have over the past two years, we intend to work in good faith to provide appropriate information to Congress,’ said Ian Sams, spokesman for White House Counsel’s Office.
‘Unfortunately, political stunts like subpoena threats from the minority suggest House Republicans might be spending more time thinking about how to get booked on Hannity than on preparing to work together to help the American people,’ he noted.
Republicans have claimed that President Biden was involved in his son Hunter’s controversial foreign business deals, which allegedly spans 50 different countries.
The president has long denied involvement in and knowledge of his son’s foreign dealings – some of which are being investigated by federal authorities.
Republicans vowed repeatedly during the 2022 election that they would use their return to power to investigate the Bidens.
The investigations will likely drag into 2024, which is when campaigning for the next presidential election will begin. Joe Biden has said he intends to run for a second term.
Rep. Jordan (left) is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee while Rep. James Comer (right) is expected to head the Oversight Committee
Comer has made it clear that lawmakers are investigating the president, which is an important distinction as the constitution gives the majority in Congress broad oversight power over elected officials.
The White House could argue that investigating the president’s son is beyond the Republicans’ constitutional scope.
‘This is an investigation of Joe Biden,’ Comer said at a press conference after the November election. ‘I think we’ve laid out the evidence as to why we feel it’s important, and we’re going to move forward with that.’
He said later, ‘We’re trying to stay focused on – was Joe Biden directly involved with Hunter Biden’s business deals, and is he compromised?’
The White House has long been preparing for a slew of Republican investigations.
Democrats, led by activist David Brock, have formed Facts First USA – a SWAT team outside the White House to respond to the probes.
Hunter Biden, meanwhile, has formed his own legal team to respond to the investigations.